Unfortunately, people get annoyed at anything, all the time, especially with driving!
When I passed my test last year, I stalled quite a lot in the first month( small engine petrol car after instructor's diesel car) I found holding up my hand as a sorry helped.
People absolutely shouldn't be honking you and getting impatient but I would also say as a new driver you're probably reading far more into people's reactions than is there, honking aside. People will get too close to you when you stall. You all start close together. You moved, they moved, you abruptly stopped, and they still having a stopping distance even if it's relatively tiny. If you're allowed to stall, why are they not allowed to not be able to stop far back?
This & marestar.
Human nature dictates that the average human u deal with will invoke ‘anger spren’.
It’s ‘so’ modern, acceptable practice (to them).
New Drivers do, of course: Panic, Overthink every situation - it’s Natural. I always try to be patient with people (unless they’re being levels of abusive, then it’s totally OK to ‘Rage Hard!’).
Think, though: every ‘horn honking hullabaloo’ can cause ‘further’ incidents and Danger!
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Not to mention that probably when you stall you aren’t putting on your brakes so no brake lights, just at the time people are trying to go. That’s why they are up on your butt. No excuse for honking though.
or switch your hazards on quick! mine unfortunately don’t work (i’m in the EXACT same position as you) but when they did for the first little bit of driving it helped a lot
It's rough enough treatment with 'L' plates.
With the 'P' the idiots among us will only think (as one dickhead I spoke to once said) 'then why the fuck are you on the road with those then???'
Agree with this, I’m a relatively new driver and still making the odd mistake - find that other drivers are very quick to get angry, and it would be easy for me to get defensive in response, but I’ve found that being apologetic generally seems to diffuse the situation. It also helps me learn to be a more patient driver, because I’m seeing that it helps me stay calm and more inclined to work with other drivers, instead of against them.
Yep, been driving a long time and today out of the blue two in a row. New road concentrating on an awkward traffic flow and went to go in third. Diesel said no. Of course I doubled down - no way I chose the wrong gear :) yes way. Waved apologies to my fellow drivers and went on with my day. We all make mistakes it’s natural , learn and move on.
Unfortunately, most people become extremely tribal once they get in a car. The road space in front of them *belongs to them* and how dare anyone even mildly inconvenience their journey?
This has the consequence of such drivers causing all sorts of issues: tailgating, pressuring other drivers, beeping angrily.
The roads would be a much safer place if there was a road safety campaign focussed on de-tribalising drivers - or better yet, educate new drivers as well as part of passing the test.
The best you can do is try to ignore it and feel slightly smug in the knowledge that all they're really achieving by pressuring you is potentially causing you to take longer and increasing their own blood pressure. And then feel sad that the intellect of the average car driver doesn't allow them to see beyond the bubble of their own convenience for even a brief moment.
And because they're safe from the outside world in their metal box. They wouldn't dream of shouting at someone or even saying anything if somebody held them up for a few seconds in any other setting.
The thing is, if you’re on foot you can generally get around anyone slower than you. In a car it’s often not possible, which is where the frustration and anger comes from. Everyone wants to travel at their own pace and in a car they simply can’t.
This is a really good explanation and way of looking at things. It's my 2nd week on the roads and people really are aggressive. They take things as a personal slight and seem to forget they were new drivers once too.
Educating new drivers wouldn't make any difference to the huge number of awful drivers on our roads. We need a form of continuous driver training. There is literally nowhere else that you are allowed to operate several tonnes of dangerous machinery having had just a few hour training and a short test 50 years previously.
One time my gearbox seized and the clutch burnt out when I was trying to pull onto a roundabout. There was a tremendous clatter/bang followed by a huge cloud of smoke but the guy behind me still beeped like I could magically fix it with my mind. The guy who beeped helped push me to safety once he twigged what was actually happening.
People are impatient and don't think things through before reacting. It's not personal.
I broke down on the way into the beacons a few years back, bonnet open, car over on the grass as much as possible without being on the marsh waiting for recovery. The weather's windy and showery but bright, so I'm obviously not just stopped to admire the view.
So many men pulled up next to my car to literally scream at me and call me a stupid cunt.
That tracks, had a guy breakdown on a roundabout. People were slowing down around his car, I heard the guy in the van in front of me yelling something as he slowed down.
I cannot fathom what is going through their brains. These people are unhinged.
I literally saw a Corsa with the front wheels turned in on themselves so obviously it was going nowhere but did that stop 20 dickheads from beeping them?
Worked with a girl who had just immigrated from South Africa. Told me how she'd once been held at gunpoint for her car in a traffic jam. Dude behind her kept beeping whilst her car was being stolen.
I broke down on Saturday and the amount of people that just floored it in the other lane at the lights because I'd inconvenienced them was unfold.
One person got out and helped me push my car round the corner. Worth adding that it was also a young person who helped and plenty of 50ish folk who beeped at me with my bonnet open and zoomed past.
Arseholes on the road are the main constant.
> Worth adding that it was also a young person who helped and plenty of 50ish folk who beeped at me with my bonnet open and zoomed past.
They're always young guys! I've had two, both when I was a kid. One was with my grandad on a pretty dangerous A road, on the inside lane. The guy's mate basically stopped traffic holding his hands up (I thought he was some kind of car wizard lol) and he pushed us over to the layby.
Second time was with my mum, but we needed to push start. My mum told me to ask some guys for help, I said no being a stubborn 13 year old and one of them ran over to give me a hand.
They just shouldn't have stalled.
I've never stalled, except for when I have but that was totally understandable when I did it those few times. Other people are idiots and I am perfect.
I need to to prove I'm a good driver by showing everyone else that I think stalling is bad. So I use my horn when people stall. It makes me look like a good driver.
I do this even more often if I made a mistake. For example if I pull out of a junction and there wasn't really enough room and I cut someone off, my hand is on that horn! I now need to redeem my ego. Next time I see someone pulling out of a junction I'm going to speed up to meet them so I can slam on my brake and horn, that will show everyone that I'm the good driver still!
\- I'm imagining this is what goes through 30% of driver's heads. I definitely see it more after someone makes a mistake. It will always happen OP, usually from people who just made their own mistakes.
Yep. It's almost always the beeper's mistake. 95% of the time it means "I wasn't paying attention, and so didn't anticipate properly".
With the possible exception of a genuine "letting someone know you're there" - maybe they're pulling out from a blind spot, but in most cases you should probably just let the person out (because you're driving at a speed at which you can stop, aren't you? and you anticipated there might be someone emerging from that driveway? and they'll not understand what you meant by the beep anyway...)
The horn is a blunt instrument and it's mostly not possible to distinguish between signals like
"hi mate!" "whoops sorry" "you're a cunt" "get out of my way" "careful, someone's crossing the road"
The more you drive the more you’ll realise not to give a fuck if someone beeps or is up your arse. If you’ve stalled and someone is beeping, put on your hazards quickly and then take the time you need to get going again, they won’t have a choice but to wait. I’ve been driving for 9 years, when someone is up my arse on the motorway and I can’t move over yet or whatever the situation is, I let them carry on without taking effect or stress, cause the last thing you want to do is do something risky behind the wheel of a car cause you felt pressured. Don’t worry about it too much, people on the road can be assholes. I’d also get a P sticker on the back if you’re worried about it though. Good luck
TLDR; wouldn’t take it personally. It’s less about you and more about the 99% of other people who don’t go on green are reading Facebook or something. The beep is for them and you’re in the crossfire.
To be honest, I see *so many* drivers in front of me sit there when the light goes green. I’ve only ever had 1 person stall in front of me at the lights. And the last time I managed to stall a car it just started itself back up automatically after telling me to push the clutch in so I don’t know how common that is these days.
Top reasons, in my experience, why someone doesn’t go on green, in order of me experiencing them; with some humour attached obviously:
1) they’re casually looking anywhere in the world apart from where they should be and are just oblivious to the fact that they’re now stopped in the middle of the road for no reason. A beep is the only thing that will break their daydream.
2) they’ve spotted an emergency vehicle and I also have spotted the emergency vehicle.
3) they’re stopped in a position where they cannot see any of their controlling lights and a beep is the only thing that will get them to go since they cannot see a green.
4) they’ve fallen asleep and a beep is the only thing that will wake them up
5) they stalled and don’t have a car that automatically starts back up.
6) a meteorite has crashed in to their car and broken the engine
7) they’re stopped for an emergency vehicle that I’ve not seen.
Haha thanks.
I wish my car would auto start but it's pretty old lol I usually stall if it's slightly up a hill or when there's a situation that's stressing me out already so Im not concentrating enough on my footwork. I have to lift my clutch very high and yet also give a lot of has whereas in the car I learnt in you barely had to move your feet with the pedals.
I’ll never forget the day I got my first car and stalled on a roundabout multiple times while the lights went from green to red three times before I sorted my shit out. You’ll get used to your car sooner than you think, sod everyone else, their rush isn’t your problem.
This is it, people can be dicks, impatient fucking dicks or they're just having a bad day and venting at anything they can.
Let it wash over you and just don't give a fuck.
Most people stall from time to time, even the angry beepers, iv been driving 10 years and still do sometimes, just give them the middle finger and forget about them.
Lmfao, I've never related to something more. 😂😂😂
I stalled while trying to join the roundabout and got beeped at and he continued to beep me throughout the roundabout all the way through to the exit. The P plate did not help at all, lol.
When the person ahead of me stalls I usually just sigh a bit because we have to wait a little longer. It’s like when you just miss a traffic light and have to wait for the next green. It’s a mild annoyance at most, but anyone who’s hopping mad about it should get their head checked.
Unless you’re endangering other people, no one should tell you you shouldn’t be on the road, and stalling is frustrating but not dangerous in most contexts.
People aren’t born with clutch control built in and everyone has to learn. The more miles you do consistently, the easier it gets. Unfortunately, minor mistakes will attract the asshats that make the road dangerous for the rest of us, it’s best to just ignore them.
Anger isn't necessarily a rational reaction to something: we all get angry sometimes.
For some reason we seem to have more triggers when we're driving.
When someone gets angry for something trivial, it just tells you something about them: they have a lot of triggers, and they're quite stressed.
Just appreciate yourself: you don't have those triggers, and you're not stressed.
This is just one of the many reasons why P plates should be mandatory for all new drivers.
I learned how to drive in Australia where it takes around 3/4 years to go from your learners to being fully licensed. For the first 12 months after passing my test I had to have red P plates on display, after passing another theory test I had to display green P plates for 24 months. After that I had to pass another theory test and then I was finally awarded my full licence.
Driving out there, if you see a car with red or green P plates you automatically give them a little more leeway, if you see a car without P plates you assume they have a minimum of 3 years experience. It was a bit of a shock when I moved to the UK and found out that you could be let loose on the road with minimal experience and no indication of that fact.
P plates help.
But if your more experienced as in just passed then your clutch control is going to be much better and hide any jalt of the car. So people think you're just not watching the lights.
This has been my experience with P plates as well. Either they're really patient and give you space or they are straight-up breathing down your ass even when you're going the speed limit.
Usually because people are in a hurry and when someone stalls at traffic lights it usually means the lights will turn red again and they’ll need to wait longer.
They don’t care about you stalling because they’re the most important thing since sliced bread. And you shouldn’t care about them because they’re behind and the thing your care about - the road - is ahead.
I’ve been on the road for about a month now and fuck those guys. Beep at me cuz I didn’t move at an amber light, ok that’s sort of fair (not really lol). Now I’ll observe the limit but make it as painful and slow as legally possible.
And no, they can’t tell. Make sure you follow the rules, get a dash cam, the rest is up to your own experience and of course law. All you can do is try to protect yourself.
Been driving for 12 years now, and I still (rarely, but still!) stall. That doesn't change the fact the idiots behind you beep and go nuts, but you're not alone :) Getting better at driving is just simply doing one thing: driving! You'll get to a point soon, and quite quickly where you will rarely stall.
Ignore the angry drivers - most likely they don't have a happy home life so they need to take it out on others on the roads.
People get annoyed because more a less everyone has to go somewhere or has a deadline, the aim of driving is to keep traffic flowing, if it’s going to work, dinner your wife has cooked or whatever.
You’re going to get frustrated naturally.
Driving anxiety. People want to get wherever they’re going as fast as possible and, in some cases, anything that slows them down rages them.
Just laugh it off and don’t worry about it
I've been driving over 30 years and the number of impatient drivers seems to be so much worse than it used to be.
I blame Brexit! All the entitled arseholes seem to think it's now perfectly fine to treat people badly.
Take no notice, no matter how much of a hurry someone is in, slamming on the horn is not going to get them where they want to go any quicker. It just advertises to everyone what a massive arsehole they are.
maybe put a p plate on your car, although depending where you live that might make people worse. UK isn't the same these days, especially after lock down. Maybe just remember to gently up the revs before releasing the clutch.
Use your P plates. Also part of the stalling issue is muscle memory, especially if you learnt in a different car to the one you now drive. My issue was my instructors car was slightly more powerful than mine so I had to give it a bit more gas. Also, my cars bite point is really high in comparison which took some getting used to. Unfortunately, other peoples impatience comes with driving. You have to let it go.
On a constructive note, why not drive yourself off somewhere quiet and practise pulling away from a standstill dozens and dozens of times. Get used to feeling how many revs you need and where the clutch bites. The sound of the engine. Get that experience in without the pressure of anyone behind you, and you'll be as smooth as butter in no time.
We were all new to driving once. And it's a shame people aren't more patient. You can do it! I believe in you.
people are just AH … nothing u can do except ignore them…
similar story i had a month ago… my new car has hill hold which is quite strong (my car also just doesn’t like hills) … i’m not used to hill hold as my previous car was old and didn’t have it so i was used to balancing clutch and accelerator so takes some time to figure out where the point is…
anyways i was on a steep hill and the lights turned amber and i was getting ready to move hopefully on time, as soon as it turned green i still wasn’t able to move but the second it was green person behind me beeped… again car still wasn’t moving (this was a solid 20-30 seconds of not moving) and he was just repeatedly beeping at me … once i moved he stalled … not once but twice… made me laugh
Heads up, the way they teach pulling away nowadays isn’t the best, it’s just the quickest way to teach someone how to pull away.
Don’t do that find the bite point using the clutch on its own, against the handbrake, then adding the throttle thing. Learn to add throttle and hit the bite point at the same time, while releasing the handbrake.
You’re way less likely to stall if your revs are already rising as you move the clutch past the bite point, and you let the handbrake off as you move through the bite point, rather than making the car fight the handbrake.
(Obviously, until you’ve mastered this, you should still find the bite point against the engaged hand brake while doing hill starts).
As an experienced driver of multiple vehicle types I find it best to never engage with anyone being impatient, aggressive or rude. It's not easy but if you just focus on your driving, (aware that some prick is screaming, shouting, beeping his little big horn)and expect that they are about to attempt the first overtake even slightly possible, keep your lane and try to be smooth. When they scream past you looking towards you don't look, it drives them crazy. Just act like you've blocked them on socials and they aren't even there. They soon remember that they're Lewis Alonso Race car man and zoom off to be a dick to someone else. Be confident, you passed your test.
Drivers tend to be selfish and impatient. You can predict their behaviour going on those 2 assumptions.
That said, a lot of these are probably just people who think you haven't noticed the lights have changed. Which (because of mobile phones) is a common enough thing at lights these days.
I really think this trigger is really about people having an assumption of a certain level of competence. You've not got L plates displayed so it's expected that you've met a minimum standard. They're not expecting you to stall so they assume you're not paying attention - and what other means does a car that's behind you have of communicating?
If a learner driver is stalling perhaps some of the most selfish and impatient would beep but most people are thinking "It's a learner"
I'd suggest finding somewhere quiet and practising pulling off because now you're stressed because people are beeping that's probably going to make it worse.
I’ve never beeped and someone stalling because I’m not a menace but what you could do if you haven’t already is get P stickers until you’re confident in your new car.
Fingers crossed that’ll give people the sense that you’re a new driver and give you some space (although people are still assholes)
I don’t drive but my partners had a car for nearly a month, he stalls sometimes because it’s a very different car to what he learnt in, always gets honked at! I am pretty sure it’s usually obvious when someone stalls, you usually see the car bounce back and forth, plus people who have driven for years still stall!
If it is because you are lifting the clutch a little quick (or even if you’re in second) try putting a little bit of gas through as you lift up (no need to rev to fuck it just helps)
Because everybody is in a rush and dont want to wait again for the next traffic light etc you will get used to it just join in and tell them to fuck off, you will officially be a legit driver then 🤣
Second time driving my car (first car and a few days ago) I stalled at a junction and a van was behind me started beeping, I think he beeped me about 3 times in quick succcession. It actually snapped me out of my panic and allowed me to take a nice slow start to make sure I didn't stall, he also got stuck at the lights.
Served him right for being a cunt.
Edit: Seen loads of comments recommending P plates to OP (and I guess it would also count for me), my lessons were a few years ago but so far it feels like people have been more patient with me than in my lessons, and I drive a (semi) hot hatch so I assume people think I'm more experienced than I am.
So are you suggesting P plates or not?
That sounds horrid lol I've only stalled with someone else in the car so they usually help by talking to me calmly so not sure what I'd be like on my own yet
I don't use P plates, can't really recommend it or not, but I found people more aggressive in my lessons (so far), but I have been driving when it's quieter.
To be fair it wasn't too bad, panic was more hyperbole. It was my first stall that affected someone else which shook me a bit, but it was fine, I took my set off nice and slowly just to make sure I got it (which only now that I have thought it through is funny that it kept the guy back longer while I got through). Just remember to make the car stationary, neutral, restart and think about your set-off more, it helps me to try and understand why I stalled to make the next set-off better, at first it was mostly because I revved too much and then lifted the clutch too fast, I kept panicking thinking the people around me thought I was revving like a dickhead.
I've got my stalls down to one per journey now :)
I'm also just making sure to remember when I drive, that my and everyone else's safety is more important than someone's impatience, so we can take things a little slower if we need to at times.
Perhaps because we've been screwed over for generations, house prices are astronomical, the world is on fire, and people are too selfish to think outside their tiny little bubble of inconvenience.
I.e. "you stalled because you weren't paying attention, and that made MY journey longer, I don't WANT to be in a car driving to work, I want to be on holiday, but I can't afford...."
That kind of thinking.
TLDR: no one cares about you and your problems, even though they're probably similar to theirs, how dare you inconvenience them in any way.
People get angry because they didn't leave enough time to make their journey, this is almost always their own fault yet they want to find ways to blame anyone else. Pay it no mind.
Weirdly enough no, they're not in the car with you, nor are they in your engine bay or hanging on to your exhaust pipe. How exactly are they going to tell you've stalled? 🤷
It’s evident to experienced drivers because the stalled car has stopped in the middle of the road for no apparent reason, with no brake light. Typically after a jolt forward after releasing the clutch too quickly followed by a sudden stop when the engine resistance kicks in at <1000 revs.
How the car reacts when it stalls. The sudden lack of noise from the car, followed by the sound of someone starting the car again. The sudden lack of visible emissions from the exhaust. The driver panicking and trying to get the car started again.
TBH the only way to not know is to be completely oblivious…
It's very easy... The car jolts, will likely roll back a metre or so whilst the driver brakes, and the lights at the back of the car cut off. How is it not obvious?
You hear revs, then the car bounces and brake lights go on. If you're not listening to music you'll hear them turn the car back on again (it's pretty loud tbh)
That actually sounds like a great idea. People in the UK just don't seem to be very forgiving to even those with L plates on, sadly. I stalled at a mini roundabout in the middle of the day when driving with my parents and both cars behind me beeped multiple times despite my L plates being on! As if that would make me calmer and more able to go..
I was hoping the P plates would help but guess I'll have to see
People can be very impatient regardless of how unreasonable that is - they also forget that none of us were born driving. That’s on them and not you. It’s annoying, but try not to let them get to you. Do your thing, and continue to be safe. :)
Hey OP, im having the same issue as you had in this thread. Super embarresed that i keep stalling in front of people, and i have been beeped at a few times! I've got a different car compared to my instructors, and the whole car has a totally different feel to it.
How long did it take for you to get the hang of driving the new car?
I didn’t stall but at the weekend I couldn’t get my car into gear when queuing in a supermarket car park. The car in front of me literally moved a few meters forward and the car behind beeped aggressively because I didn’t immediately drive on.
Not only that, but when I pulled forwards into a space they beeped again and shouted abuse because I didn’t overshoot and go into the space in front space in front meaning they had to go around. What moron reverses into a supermarket space when they need to load their shopping into the boot??? Joke was on them as someone else got the space and they had to go off somewhere else.
To be fair it is annoying when you miss a traffic light etc because the person in front of you apparently can’t drive and is challenged by simply moving off. I still wouldn’t bother beeping as it’s not going to help but I can certainly understand why people are pissed.
Bad driving is really dangerous, a car should be moving when the circumstances say it should, if it isn’t then suddenly the concentration from other drivers has to go up and the stress also goes up.
People don’t get upset when walking if someone falls over in front of them because they are not worried about being in an accident.
Driving can be very stressful and your stalling adds to that. If you don’t have L or P plates you are supposed to know how to drive because it’s dangerous if you don’t.
I always waved sorry when I stalled just after my test. Only if they didn't rush me. The one cunt who did got stuck behind me doing 25 in a 40. Pettiness is my middle name.
I found getting a sticker that said "black box fitter, more annoyed than you are helped ease up.
I used to share a car with my sister and she had the black box buyt I'd been driving for 10+ years and she'd only just passed. It was helpful!
I stalled at a roundabout yesterday and this guy behind me seemed to get very very upset by it. So much that once I got moving again and exited the roundabout, he overtook me at full speed, not noticing the traffic lights ahead of us, and he almost obliterated some guy that was crossing the road.
Dangerous drivers, bro.
Don't sweat them, it happens to everyone at the start. Probably happens to far more experienced drivers more often than they'd admit.
If someone's angry enough to beep, just take comfort in the thought that you're causing some A hole to bust a blood vessel in a mixvof rage and impotence.
I got beeped on my second driving lesson when I stalled at a roundabout.
I only ever beep someone if they're being a dick, never if they've made a mistake.
Unfortunately, a lot of people are rude like that though, don't let it ruin your day. It's their problem, not yours
Because people are asshats. It's gotten a lot worse since lockdown - I don't know why.
So little patience on the roads these days and driving skills have gone to the dogs.
UK roads are crap and over crowded, a lot of people are stuck doing hours they don't want to do at jobs they don't like just to pay the bills. And to top it off, UK drivers are on the whole rather crap. It's not excusing them but people are fed up to begin with and I think a lot of people are yet to figure out that's why they are fed up.
I'm a motorcyclist so I'm perhaps a bit more aware of other drivers than some and I've noticed a huge drop in driving standards since COVID. It's quite shocking really
If it makes you feel better I once stalled when a police car was coming up fast behind me with its sirens on and then started beeping and gesticulating angrily at me.
People get braver than they would face to face because they're in the safety of the car.
When they beep at the wrong person and they then get out the car, watch the beeper shrink into their seat to hide.
Try to ignore them as best you can, take a deep breath, and restart your car. All of us have stalled and still occasionally stall. It happens and is not a big deal as long as you safely recover.
Mate I’ve had people beep at me as soon as a light turns green. They must assume I’m sitting there with launch control ready in my work van to hurtle me to the next red light.
Most likely a misunderstanding. 9/10 its because someone isn't paying attention and staring at their phone. Although it is quite easy whether or not someone stalled.
I'm tempted to say it's more likely they don't know you've stalled and just assume your not paying attention/looking at your phone so are beeping. Can't say I've noticed how obvious it is if someone actually stalls or not.
You will get used to it fairly quickly and will hardly ever stall so don't worry.
In fairness modern cars are much more difficult to stall than they used to be. Because of this it's much more likely that the person you are sat behind is just not paying attention. In this situation a short 'toot' on the horn to wake them up is fair enough. Doing a long aggressive blast of the horn is not ok but seems to be the default reaction for some people.
Where I live you only tend to hear a horn if someone is taking ages to do something when they are able to go. When I go to London though it seems that it can be the way people communicate at times as it's used a lot more.
Honestly, 90% of the time they think you've just not noticed the lights. It's not common to stall once you're up and running with driving, so their expectations are otherwise.
Don't take it to heart, do what you gotta do and don't worry about those behind you too much ")
I drive very old cars, pre 1950's mainly. Most of them built before traffic and traffic lights were a thing. The damn things aren't really built to be sat waiting for long periods, so the plugs gunk up at low RPMS, so when you do need to floor it away from the lights they do have the tendency to splutter and die, and cos the engines are really hot at this point, they don't tend to like being restarted.
I appreciate that people tend to be a little sympathetic to older cars and it's very much appreciated, we do try not to cause too much chaos out on the roads.
If you stall often enough to be using the phrase '4 out of 5 times' then maybe get some L plates. Or P plates.
And no it's not generally obvious when you've stalled.
4 out of 5 times? How often is this happening? Advice here, More throttle. If you're one of these that was stupidly taught by an instructor to lift the clutch to start rolling then use the throttle. Ignore it. You ALWAYS apply some throttle before lifting the clutch. Then as the clutch bites and you lift it more, put more throttle on. This is not new science. This is the way vehicles have always been driven. Even automatics apply throttle before biting the clutch.
As for the beeping.
"HOW DARE YOU STALL IN FRONT OF ME!!! I'M IMPORTANT AND I HAVE PLACES DO BE!"
jk btw. They're arseholes, that's all.
People are just twats, I've been teaching my partner to use my car as I'll be giving it to him when he passes, and he's usually going the speed limit and we'll get taken over IN TOWNS
It really pisses me off when this happens. So I have stalled, I will make the person behind me 5 seconds behind their schedule. Just ignore, acknowledge them as said, with a sorry wave, deep breath and carry on.
I dunno, like... yeah, people shouldn't be assholes. Obviously.
But on the other hand, if you've stalled, you've f'd up. Stalling is not a normal part of driving. It's a mistake you've made, which has inconvenienced the driver behind you.
Should they get angry about it? No. Especially if you've got P plates on. We all make mistakes. But we've all been angry about things that have inconvenienced us too, right? You can see why they might be frustrated.
My instructor very clearly drummed in to me that when you stall, don't panic and more importantly, ignore any impatient asshole behind you. Handbrake, neutral, breathe. Start her up, get the biting point and then release the handbrake. It's very very rare I'll stall nowadays but if I do and someone behind gives it the horn, I'll probably purposely hold them up even more.
There may be another factor at play here which is the proliferation of automatic gearboxes.
Many people now have either only ever driven automatics or haven't driven a manual for many years. This is likely to reduce their ability to empathize with someone stalling a manual car.
In a similar vein, people often remark on understanding the difficulties of driving HGVs or motorbikes on the public road better once they have experienced driving these vehicles themselves and feel more able to accommodate those road users as a result.
I know it's silly but when I passed I got a sticker for the car. It was a picture of a bear that said "black box fitted, please bear with me" and it made drivers so much nicer around me lol. I didn't even HAVE a black box but it severely reduced the beeps if I messed up and everyone gave me plenty of room for hill starts.
I passed my test about a year ago and the same used to happen to me. I just had to learn to ignore people behind me. Tailgaters, mainly. I sort of understand why driving standards are so much worse than they should be as a result (Besides the practical and theory test both being piss-easy) everyone has to be numb to all the idiots around them to avoid getting angry or frustrated which then makes them drive worse.
When I had first passed I assumed people were honking because I stalled. A few years later, I realised most honk because far too many people mess around with their phones or are chatting and don't even notice the lights change. Of course some are just AHs but most are probably didn't notice the stall and assume you're not paying attention.
I've wondered about this for years - I've been driving long enough that I hardly ever stall, but I recently took a younger relative out on L plates quite a few times.
Of course they stalled now and then - everybody does in unfamiliar car.
And yes the beeps were common.
It happened so often that I began to take note of the type of people doing the beeping. I was sure it would be 'boy racers'. Or men in their 30s that still think they are boy racers.
Instead it seemed mostly to be middle aged women in fairly expensive SUVs - that might be selection bias, we were driving at 'school run' timeslot and in that sort of area. Some people just can't help telling the world they are judging you.
I had wondered if it was a "hey mate the lights have changed" signal and maybe some were, but we were getting them at give way junctions / roundabouts too. Mostly they knew it was a stall and the beeping was a declaration that they were more important than you and you had the gall to inconvenience them.
As you point out the beeping doesn't help and makes you more flustered.
All drivers will stall and you will eventually learn to be chill about it, but being in traffic and worrying about other drivers makes you panic and try to restart quickly.
Never snatch at the ignition but wait a beat longer, do a routine - check the gear you are in check your mirror, consider the handbrake for hill starts, check your foot on the clutch. ONly then do you get to touch the ignition key
And the bonus is rather than get flustered with the beeping, enjoy the thought you've just inconvenienced a twat.
I had someone pull out on me in the middle of a junction causing me to emergency brake and I got called a wanker by Karen & Ken in the car behind me, when I wasn’t at fault, avoided a crash & I HAVE P PLATES. What’s the betting Karen & Ken don’t have insurance or licenses? Also what was even funnier is that the police pulled them over lmao
Click warning light button on and off. I do this if i have made a mistake or im saying thank you. The day i passed my test i cut up a guy who was bigger than the car he was driving, chased me home and threatened to stab me and my friends 😂 all for pulling out on him as he was doing 50 in a 30 😂 everyone is entitled on the road. Youll meet some disgusting people in traffic 🤣
It's not everyone, I've never honked at someone stalling, just people who are intentionally cuntish or people who are obliviously doing something dangerous and need warning. At the end of the day, shit happens and even experienced drivers behind the wheel of different vehicles can stall from time to time.
People are impatient and they seemingly forget that driving was new to them once.
I had someone give up their priority to let me out of a car park....no other traffic around, they weren't turning into the car park, they slowed down and stopped on the main road to let me out when I would have been out after they passed anyway. I took a quick look around to make sure it was safe to go and in that time the other driver got fed up of waiting and sped away, giving not very nice hand gestures. If he was in such a hurry, why stop? I find stuff like that very annoying, but someone stalling? No, everybody stalls
Yep, I had this happen to me too when I passed and got my car. It only has a small engine so needs a lot more gas to get going than my instructors car did, where I could pretty much just lift my foot off the clutch and it would go. Not to mention the clutch on my car has a higher biting point too, it's like right at the top of the clutch. It's also not as smooth as my instructors car, it's quite a light clutch.
I stalled a LOT taking it home when I got it. Every time I had to start, I stalled it. But oddly, no-one beeped me then. I did get beeped at a few times a couple of weeks later though. It's like, okay bro, I've just stalled the car, what do you want me to do? Start it faster?
Luckily, I've gotten used to it now and I don't stall it quite as much. I still do stall relatively regularly though.
I had someone behind blaring their horn at me for not going at a green light, despite the fact there was ambulance coming through with the lights and siren running. Like them getting through this particular light at this particular moment is more important than the life of that patient.
Had some head gasket issues with my car when I was driving it. Managed to get it to limp home a little, lost some power at an uphill traffic light and missed the light. Car behind me was furious. On the next light, they didn't even wait and blasted round the middle island.
Police car coming the other way spun round and went after them. Instant Karma.
But yeah, people are dicks in cars.
Normally it's quite obvious, because the car jolts and stops.
The main problem is that the people on the roads are tremendous dickheads and don't understand that not everyone is Lewis Hamilton.
I once stalled turning right at a cross roads when I 1st got my car.
It was one of them big crossroads where you wait in the middle for oncoming traffic to pass/stop. So comes my turn to set off and the car rolls forward and stalls. Then the stream of cars from my left starts. Instead of slowing to create a space to just letting me go they're all squeezing round me and pulling faces at me.
Impatient twats… I usually wait a bit to see why the car has stallen, if they are obviously distracted with no learner plate signs on, then I bib them.
If you have a jus passed sign on ur car, then ignore em
When I was learning, I must've stalled 15-20 times. When I was with my instructor, I was on a road that has the national speed limit but has some very tight bends, so it changes to 50. I slowed down to 50 and I got beeped by the bellend behind me, and then he decided to overtake me just before one of those tight bends!
My instructor was dumbfounded by it, absolutely insane decisions that bloke made. He was quite shocked at how calm I was when inside I was actually screaming.
I failed my first test because a dickhead van driver got right up my arse after I had pulled out. Instructor even told me that I had made the right decision to pull out when I did but unfortunately the decision had resulted in me negatively impacting another driver which is an automatic fail.
Mate someone honked at me for waiting in my lane to turn right. The guy must've thought I was just going to throw myself into oncoming traffic so I didn't inconvenience him.
There's no pleasing these types of people, best you can do is try not to let it get to you
Some may not realise you've stalled and are trying to be helpful/bring your attention to the green light. You can't always tell the intention behind the beep. But unfortunately many are just irrationally impatient over the slightest thing. Just do you, try to stay positive and ignore the negative.
The day I picked up my car after passing my test, I was driving home and there was a big hill. It was the first petrol car I had ever driven and I was on my own and terrified. I must have stalled 20 times at the set of lights on this particular hill. Two cars behind me was a police car, the police guy got out and came up to the window- I was terrified thinking I would get a row for something. He was ridiculously nice and understanding - told me to give it more power than I thought necessary. Finally I managed to make it through the lights and on my way. I think about that cop every time I drive up that road now.
I don't see people stall very often so I wouldn't immediately recognise that they've stalled either tbh. Some people do just break heavily for no reason lol
Put P plates on your car and if the still beep at you then they’re an arsehole. From that point on breath, remain calm and take your time pulling away again. Don’t allow them to fluster you otherwise you will be allowing them to achieve the emotional state their weak character requires to feel good about themself.
I’m gonna give you a bit of advice that could potentially save your life. Stop caring. You caring about this type of stuff on the road puts you much more likely to have an accident. Do you notice anyone else give a fuck when you give them the horn no, because most people don’t give a fuck on the roads, they do shit then ask for forgiveness rather than permission. Hesitation and worrying about someone beeping at you will distract from the actual important stuff. Be safe, take your time and don’t give a flying fuck about anyones time but always their and your own safety.
Mainly because they're annoyed at themselves for not having left enough space between you and them to drive round if you stall. They were told while learning to drive but they're impatient and stupid so they don't bother. Then when they do get stuck through their own stupidity, they try to blame it on someone else by beeping their horn.
Stick the hazards on, put a hand up to apologise and then ignore them while you get started again.
Drivers are just fucking weird, some people just can't take anything into consideration outside of 1 vehicle ahead or even outside of their own vehicle. You can have an entire city in gridlock yet twats will still think repeatedly honking will achieve anything (quite literally [https://youtu.be/sRtlmkLjjkY?t=6](https://youtu.be/sRtlmkLjjkY?t=6)).
"Queueing" in the fast lane waiting for the car in front to finally overtake the car in the middle lane and move over...then some twat just decides to dangerously undertake everyone only to find out they're going to have to wait anyway.
Some bus drivers believing they have some all powerful right of way (at least in my city). "Lads" in ridiculous looking "suped up" non-performance cars thinking they can match performance cars.
OP, if this is mostly happening at traffic lights...that'll be why. The majority of drivers will have music on/be concentrating on the traffic lights so won't notice your stall. Just forget about it as soon as you and allow the "natural" feeling of driving to take over. Worrying about stalling just leads of more stalling. Don't worry, you'll get to the point where switching gear is the most natural feeling in the world it'll feel "odd" if a stall does occur (you'll also 100% say "fuck me, haven't done that in awhile" to yourself when it does).
I’m still a learner and get people driving up way too close to me when I stall or even just take slightly longer than they wanted to get going at traffic lights. I don’t know if it’s my area specifically but people really like bullying learners and new drivers!
We all do it. I've been driving for 18 years now & I stalled a couple of weeks ago. It happens. Don't let yourself get effected by anybody else. Just correct any mistakes & drive safely. Cars are dangerous machines & we need to keep our cool & our focus. Yes it's annoying to hold up traffic, but it can't be helped sometimes. People who get wound up over 3 seconds of delay are not worth an ounce of your thoughts or emotional wellbeing, & you're likely not going to share the road with them for long anyway.
If you passed your test, how is it possible that you stall your car?? This is a basic skill you should posses long before even taking your final driving test! 🤦♂️
I used to wonder why there was so much road rage. I used to just have a little motorbike and could just ride around get where I wanted to go quickly.
Then I got a car.
Jesus, its not fun driving a car. I even get annoyed and angry. City driving with a car is the single worst part of my week. Fuck everyone else on the road during that time. I can't imagine having to do that every day. Luckily I work from home and only rarely need to drive during peak times in the city.
I understand road rage by anyone who has to waste hours of their life sat in rush hour traffic in a car. I pity you, its awful.
Some people don't like to, but I drove with 'P' stickers for the first few months. It lets people know you're a novice and they'll be a bit more cautious around you and give you space. When I see them now I'll leave a bit of extra space behind them at junctions etc, and even just behind them on a road, because I remember what it was like to be a bit nervous and self conscious about the people behind when I was a new driver.
When people beep at me, I like to get out of the car and ask them if everything is okay as they beeped for attention and I worry that they need assistance.
NOTE: this makes people very angry.
US lurker here, it's even worse over here due to manuals being less common. First car I could get my hands on free was a stick so that's how I learned, and people genuinely did not seem to understand what was going on when I stalled. And when you're on a grade it's annoying cause people get right up on your ass, not expecting the roll back.
Why not practice driving in a car park, get a feel for the clutch, then once you can be on public roads without inconveniencing other people ( which I find absurd that you can pass a test and be allowed on the road when you haven’t even got a firm grasp on the very basic task of using the pedals)
The problem is not inpatient people or other aggressive drivers, the problem is we are giving driving licences to people that are still petrified of the road, have no awareness and just outright should not be on the road. And before anyone chimes in “ you were a new driver too once!” Yes I was, and at that point I had made sure I had done sufficient lessons to be confident in driving to a standard that didn’t cause problems for other road users. I’m sure I’ll get downvoted to fuck for expecting people with driving licences to be able to drive, bizarre really🤷♂️
Unfortunately, people get annoyed at anything, all the time, especially with driving! When I passed my test last year, I stalled quite a lot in the first month( small engine petrol car after instructor's diesel car) I found holding up my hand as a sorry helped.
I might try that actually, I hate people to think I shouldn't be on the road but I need the hours it's the only way I'm going to get better
Just make sure all your fingers are up and not just the middle one.
Start with all fingers up and slowly put all others but the middle one down
People absolutely shouldn't be honking you and getting impatient but I would also say as a new driver you're probably reading far more into people's reactions than is there, honking aside. People will get too close to you when you stall. You all start close together. You moved, they moved, you abruptly stopped, and they still having a stopping distance even if it's relatively tiny. If you're allowed to stall, why are they not allowed to not be able to stop far back?
This & marestar. Human nature dictates that the average human u deal with will invoke ‘anger spren’. It’s ‘so’ modern, acceptable practice (to them). New Drivers do, of course: Panic, Overthink every situation - it’s Natural. I always try to be patient with people (unless they’re being levels of abusive, then it’s totally OK to ‘Rage Hard!’). Think, though: every ‘horn honking hullabaloo’ can cause ‘further’ incidents and Danger!
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Not to mention that probably when you stall you aren’t putting on your brakes so no brake lights, just at the time people are trying to go. That’s why they are up on your butt. No excuse for honking though.
or switch your hazards on quick! mine unfortunately don’t work (i’m in the EXACT same position as you) but when they did for the first little bit of driving it helped a lot
This, plus use some P plates
I'm not sure "I'm not a confident driver" plates will result in other drivers treating the OP any better...
My Instructor hated p plates for this reason
Depends on the area, round here the P just stands for "Piss me off" and people will act like twats towards you.
It's rough enough treatment with 'L' plates. With the 'P' the idiots among us will only think (as one dickhead I spoke to once said) 'then why the fuck are you on the road with those then???'
Naaahh P Plates are not the one, that just angers people more
|I think anyone who gets angry about P plates is probably going to find something to get angry about whatever the situation.
I think it angers you more. I think P plates make most people understand that there is a new driver, and to be a bit more patient with them.
I drove my first week without P plates and it definitely made a positive difference putting them on.
Must live in a friendly spot haha
Like a red cloth for a bull.
It's the best solution. Everone seems to think you've personally insulted them. But a quick 'sorry my fault' diffuses everything, good luck driving
I had someone honking when I was trying to get around the turns in a multi storey car park that was seemingly designed for forklift trucks
Agree with this, I’m a relatively new driver and still making the odd mistake - find that other drivers are very quick to get angry, and it would be easy for me to get defensive in response, but I’ve found that being apologetic generally seems to diffuse the situation. It also helps me learn to be a more patient driver, because I’m seeing that it helps me stay calm and more inclined to work with other drivers, instead of against them.
It's so weird, my dad said once I go diesel I'll never have issues with stalling, when I switched to diesel I found it much easier to stall.
I was the exact same and made a post on a learner driver sub asking the same! The biting point is so much higher than what I was used to.
Yep, been driving a long time and today out of the blue two in a row. New road concentrating on an awkward traffic flow and went to go in third. Diesel said no. Of course I doubled down - no way I chose the wrong gear :) yes way. Waved apologies to my fellow drivers and went on with my day. We all make mistakes it’s natural , learn and move on.
This, plus use some P plates
Unfortunately, most people become extremely tribal once they get in a car. The road space in front of them *belongs to them* and how dare anyone even mildly inconvenience their journey? This has the consequence of such drivers causing all sorts of issues: tailgating, pressuring other drivers, beeping angrily. The roads would be a much safer place if there was a road safety campaign focussed on de-tribalising drivers - or better yet, educate new drivers as well as part of passing the test. The best you can do is try to ignore it and feel slightly smug in the knowledge that all they're really achieving by pressuring you is potentially causing you to take longer and increasing their own blood pressure. And then feel sad that the intellect of the average car driver doesn't allow them to see beyond the bubble of their own convenience for even a brief moment.
And because they're safe from the outside world in their metal box. They wouldn't dream of shouting at someone or even saying anything if somebody held them up for a few seconds in any other setting.
The thing is, if you’re on foot you can generally get around anyone slower than you. In a car it’s often not possible, which is where the frustration and anger comes from. Everyone wants to travel at their own pace and in a car they simply can’t.
This is a really good explanation and way of looking at things. It's my 2nd week on the roads and people really are aggressive. They take things as a personal slight and seem to forget they were new drivers once too.
Educating new drivers wouldn't make any difference to the huge number of awful drivers on our roads. We need a form of continuous driver training. There is literally nowhere else that you are allowed to operate several tonnes of dangerous machinery having had just a few hour training and a short test 50 years previously.
One time my gearbox seized and the clutch burnt out when I was trying to pull onto a roundabout. There was a tremendous clatter/bang followed by a huge cloud of smoke but the guy behind me still beeped like I could magically fix it with my mind. The guy who beeped helped push me to safety once he twigged what was actually happening. People are impatient and don't think things through before reacting. It's not personal.
I managed to stall ON a roundabout recently, people lost their tiny minds!
Tbf I didn't know that was possible, was it a tiny roundabout?
I broke down on the way into the beacons a few years back, bonnet open, car over on the grass as much as possible without being on the marsh waiting for recovery. The weather's windy and showery but bright, so I'm obviously not just stopped to admire the view. So many men pulled up next to my car to literally scream at me and call me a stupid cunt.
That tracks, had a guy breakdown on a roundabout. People were slowing down around his car, I heard the guy in the van in front of me yelling something as he slowed down. I cannot fathom what is going through their brains. These people are unhinged.
I literally saw a Corsa with the front wheels turned in on themselves so obviously it was going nowhere but did that stop 20 dickheads from beeping them?
Worked with a girl who had just immigrated from South Africa. Told me how she'd once been held at gunpoint for her car in a traffic jam. Dude behind her kept beeping whilst her car was being stolen.
I broke down on Saturday and the amount of people that just floored it in the other lane at the lights because I'd inconvenienced them was unfold. One person got out and helped me push my car round the corner. Worth adding that it was also a young person who helped and plenty of 50ish folk who beeped at me with my bonnet open and zoomed past. Arseholes on the road are the main constant.
> Worth adding that it was also a young person who helped and plenty of 50ish folk who beeped at me with my bonnet open and zoomed past. They're always young guys! I've had two, both when I was a kid. One was with my grandad on a pretty dangerous A road, on the inside lane. The guy's mate basically stopped traffic holding his hands up (I thought he was some kind of car wizard lol) and he pushed us over to the layby. Second time was with my mum, but we needed to push start. My mum told me to ask some guys for help, I said no being a stubborn 13 year old and one of them ran over to give me a hand.
Because people have little sense of proportion.
They just shouldn't have stalled. I've never stalled, except for when I have but that was totally understandable when I did it those few times. Other people are idiots and I am perfect.
Are you me?
I was the last time I checked
I need to to prove I'm a good driver by showing everyone else that I think stalling is bad. So I use my horn when people stall. It makes me look like a good driver. I do this even more often if I made a mistake. For example if I pull out of a junction and there wasn't really enough room and I cut someone off, my hand is on that horn! I now need to redeem my ego. Next time I see someone pulling out of a junction I'm going to speed up to meet them so I can slam on my brake and horn, that will show everyone that I'm the good driver still! \- I'm imagining this is what goes through 30% of driver's heads. I definitely see it more after someone makes a mistake. It will always happen OP, usually from people who just made their own mistakes.
Yep. It's almost always the beeper's mistake. 95% of the time it means "I wasn't paying attention, and so didn't anticipate properly". With the possible exception of a genuine "letting someone know you're there" - maybe they're pulling out from a blind spot, but in most cases you should probably just let the person out (because you're driving at a speed at which you can stop, aren't you? and you anticipated there might be someone emerging from that driveway? and they'll not understand what you meant by the beep anyway...) The horn is a blunt instrument and it's mostly not possible to distinguish between signals like "hi mate!" "whoops sorry" "you're a cunt" "get out of my way" "careful, someone's crossing the road"
The more you drive the more you’ll realise not to give a fuck if someone beeps or is up your arse. If you’ve stalled and someone is beeping, put on your hazards quickly and then take the time you need to get going again, they won’t have a choice but to wait. I’ve been driving for 9 years, when someone is up my arse on the motorway and I can’t move over yet or whatever the situation is, I let them carry on without taking effect or stress, cause the last thing you want to do is do something risky behind the wheel of a car cause you felt pressured. Don’t worry about it too much, people on the road can be assholes. I’d also get a P sticker on the back if you’re worried about it though. Good luck
TLDR; wouldn’t take it personally. It’s less about you and more about the 99% of other people who don’t go on green are reading Facebook or something. The beep is for them and you’re in the crossfire. To be honest, I see *so many* drivers in front of me sit there when the light goes green. I’ve only ever had 1 person stall in front of me at the lights. And the last time I managed to stall a car it just started itself back up automatically after telling me to push the clutch in so I don’t know how common that is these days. Top reasons, in my experience, why someone doesn’t go on green, in order of me experiencing them; with some humour attached obviously: 1) they’re casually looking anywhere in the world apart from where they should be and are just oblivious to the fact that they’re now stopped in the middle of the road for no reason. A beep is the only thing that will break their daydream. 2) they’ve spotted an emergency vehicle and I also have spotted the emergency vehicle. 3) they’re stopped in a position where they cannot see any of their controlling lights and a beep is the only thing that will get them to go since they cannot see a green. 4) they’ve fallen asleep and a beep is the only thing that will wake them up 5) they stalled and don’t have a car that automatically starts back up. 6) a meteorite has crashed in to their car and broken the engine 7) they’re stopped for an emergency vehicle that I’ve not seen.
Haha thanks. I wish my car would auto start but it's pretty old lol I usually stall if it's slightly up a hill or when there's a situation that's stressing me out already so Im not concentrating enough on my footwork. I have to lift my clutch very high and yet also give a lot of has whereas in the car I learnt in you barely had to move your feet with the pedals.
I’ll never forget the day I got my first car and stalled on a roundabout multiple times while the lights went from green to red three times before I sorted my shit out. You’ll get used to your car sooner than you think, sod everyone else, their rush isn’t your problem.
'looking at their phone' would be high up on my list
People can tell, they're just dicks
This is it, people can be dicks, impatient fucking dicks or they're just having a bad day and venting at anything they can. Let it wash over you and just don't give a fuck.
Most people stall from time to time, even the angry beepers, iv been driving 10 years and still do sometimes, just give them the middle finger and forget about them.
Lmfao, I've never related to something more. 😂😂😂 I stalled while trying to join the roundabout and got beeped at and he continued to beep me throughout the roundabout all the way through to the exit. The P plate did not help at all, lol.
When the person ahead of me stalls I usually just sigh a bit because we have to wait a little longer. It’s like when you just miss a traffic light and have to wait for the next green. It’s a mild annoyance at most, but anyone who’s hopping mad about it should get their head checked. Unless you’re endangering other people, no one should tell you you shouldn’t be on the road, and stalling is frustrating but not dangerous in most contexts. People aren’t born with clutch control built in and everyone has to learn. The more miles you do consistently, the easier it gets. Unfortunately, minor mistakes will attract the asshats that make the road dangerous for the rest of us, it’s best to just ignore them.
Anger isn't necessarily a rational reaction to something: we all get angry sometimes. For some reason we seem to have more triggers when we're driving. When someone gets angry for something trivial, it just tells you something about them: they have a lot of triggers, and they're quite stressed. Just appreciate yourself: you don't have those triggers, and you're not stressed.
Hopefully you have the green p stickers on I'm always more forgiving if I see them.
This is just one of the many reasons why P plates should be mandatory for all new drivers. I learned how to drive in Australia where it takes around 3/4 years to go from your learners to being fully licensed. For the first 12 months after passing my test I had to have red P plates on display, after passing another theory test I had to display green P plates for 24 months. After that I had to pass another theory test and then I was finally awarded my full licence. Driving out there, if you see a car with red or green P plates you automatically give them a little more leeway, if you see a car without P plates you assume they have a minimum of 3 years experience. It was a bit of a shock when I moved to the UK and found out that you could be let loose on the road with minimal experience and no indication of that fact.
P plates help. But if your more experienced as in just passed then your clutch control is going to be much better and hide any jalt of the car. So people think you're just not watching the lights.
I'm my experience they helped with nice people and encouraged the idiots to take the piss i.e. dangerous overtaking, cut ups etc.
This has been my experience with P plates as well. Either they're really patient and give you space or they are straight-up breathing down your ass even when you're going the speed limit.
Usually because people are in a hurry and when someone stalls at traffic lights it usually means the lights will turn red again and they’ll need to wait longer.
They don’t care about you stalling because they’re the most important thing since sliced bread. And you shouldn’t care about them because they’re behind and the thing your care about - the road - is ahead. I’ve been on the road for about a month now and fuck those guys. Beep at me cuz I didn’t move at an amber light, ok that’s sort of fair (not really lol). Now I’ll observe the limit but make it as painful and slow as legally possible. And no, they can’t tell. Make sure you follow the rules, get a dash cam, the rest is up to your own experience and of course law. All you can do is try to protect yourself.
Been driving for 12 years now, and I still (rarely, but still!) stall. That doesn't change the fact the idiots behind you beep and go nuts, but you're not alone :) Getting better at driving is just simply doing one thing: driving! You'll get to a point soon, and quite quickly where you will rarely stall. Ignore the angry drivers - most likely they don't have a happy home life so they need to take it out on others on the roads.
People get annoyed because more a less everyone has to go somewhere or has a deadline, the aim of driving is to keep traffic flowing, if it’s going to work, dinner your wife has cooked or whatever. You’re going to get frustrated naturally.
I stall the car sometimes ,driving for 15 years now, it happens
Driving anxiety. People want to get wherever they’re going as fast as possible and, in some cases, anything that slows them down rages them. Just laugh it off and don’t worry about it
I've been driving over 30 years and the number of impatient drivers seems to be so much worse than it used to be. I blame Brexit! All the entitled arseholes seem to think it's now perfectly fine to treat people badly. Take no notice, no matter how much of a hurry someone is in, slamming on the horn is not going to get them where they want to go any quicker. It just advertises to everyone what a massive arsehole they are.
Why not stick a green P on the rear of the car to say you are a newby. It might help until you get some more practise in.
maybe put a p plate on your car, although depending where you live that might make people worse. UK isn't the same these days, especially after lock down. Maybe just remember to gently up the revs before releasing the clutch.
Use your P plates. Also part of the stalling issue is muscle memory, especially if you learnt in a different car to the one you now drive. My issue was my instructors car was slightly more powerful than mine so I had to give it a bit more gas. Also, my cars bite point is really high in comparison which took some getting used to. Unfortunately, other peoples impatience comes with driving. You have to let it go.
On a constructive note, why not drive yourself off somewhere quiet and practise pulling away from a standstill dozens and dozens of times. Get used to feeling how many revs you need and where the clutch bites. The sound of the engine. Get that experience in without the pressure of anyone behind you, and you'll be as smooth as butter in no time. We were all new to driving once. And it's a shame people aren't more patient. You can do it! I believe in you.
Thank you :)
people are just AH … nothing u can do except ignore them… similar story i had a month ago… my new car has hill hold which is quite strong (my car also just doesn’t like hills) … i’m not used to hill hold as my previous car was old and didn’t have it so i was used to balancing clutch and accelerator so takes some time to figure out where the point is… anyways i was on a steep hill and the lights turned amber and i was getting ready to move hopefully on time, as soon as it turned green i still wasn’t able to move but the second it was green person behind me beeped… again car still wasn’t moving (this was a solid 20-30 seconds of not moving) and he was just repeatedly beeping at me … once i moved he stalled … not once but twice… made me laugh
Heads up, the way they teach pulling away nowadays isn’t the best, it’s just the quickest way to teach someone how to pull away. Don’t do that find the bite point using the clutch on its own, against the handbrake, then adding the throttle thing. Learn to add throttle and hit the bite point at the same time, while releasing the handbrake. You’re way less likely to stall if your revs are already rising as you move the clutch past the bite point, and you let the handbrake off as you move through the bite point, rather than making the car fight the handbrake. (Obviously, until you’ve mastered this, you should still find the bite point against the engaged hand brake while doing hill starts).
As an experienced driver of multiple vehicle types I find it best to never engage with anyone being impatient, aggressive or rude. It's not easy but if you just focus on your driving, (aware that some prick is screaming, shouting, beeping his little big horn)and expect that they are about to attempt the first overtake even slightly possible, keep your lane and try to be smooth. When they scream past you looking towards you don't look, it drives them crazy. Just act like you've blocked them on socials and they aren't even there. They soon remember that they're Lewis Alonso Race car man and zoom off to be a dick to someone else. Be confident, you passed your test.
Drivers tend to be selfish and impatient. You can predict their behaviour going on those 2 assumptions. That said, a lot of these are probably just people who think you haven't noticed the lights have changed. Which (because of mobile phones) is a common enough thing at lights these days. I really think this trigger is really about people having an assumption of a certain level of competence. You've not got L plates displayed so it's expected that you've met a minimum standard. They're not expecting you to stall so they assume you're not paying attention - and what other means does a car that's behind you have of communicating? If a learner driver is stalling perhaps some of the most selfish and impatient would beep but most people are thinking "It's a learner" I'd suggest finding somewhere quiet and practising pulling off because now you're stressed because people are beeping that's probably going to make it worse.
I’ve never beeped and someone stalling because I’m not a menace but what you could do if you haven’t already is get P stickers until you’re confident in your new car. Fingers crossed that’ll give people the sense that you’re a new driver and give you some space (although people are still assholes)
I don’t drive but my partners had a car for nearly a month, he stalls sometimes because it’s a very different car to what he learnt in, always gets honked at! I am pretty sure it’s usually obvious when someone stalls, you usually see the car bounce back and forth, plus people who have driven for years still stall!
If it is because you are lifting the clutch a little quick (or even if you’re in second) try putting a little bit of gas through as you lift up (no need to rev to fuck it just helps)
Because everybody is in a rush and dont want to wait again for the next traffic light etc you will get used to it just join in and tell them to fuck off, you will officially be a legit driver then 🤣
There's nothing that winds me up more on the road than other drivers lack of patience day to day. People are cunts
Second time driving my car (first car and a few days ago) I stalled at a junction and a van was behind me started beeping, I think he beeped me about 3 times in quick succcession. It actually snapped me out of my panic and allowed me to take a nice slow start to make sure I didn't stall, he also got stuck at the lights. Served him right for being a cunt. Edit: Seen loads of comments recommending P plates to OP (and I guess it would also count for me), my lessons were a few years ago but so far it feels like people have been more patient with me than in my lessons, and I drive a (semi) hot hatch so I assume people think I'm more experienced than I am.
So are you suggesting P plates or not? That sounds horrid lol I've only stalled with someone else in the car so they usually help by talking to me calmly so not sure what I'd be like on my own yet
I don't use P plates, can't really recommend it or not, but I found people more aggressive in my lessons (so far), but I have been driving when it's quieter. To be fair it wasn't too bad, panic was more hyperbole. It was my first stall that affected someone else which shook me a bit, but it was fine, I took my set off nice and slowly just to make sure I got it (which only now that I have thought it through is funny that it kept the guy back longer while I got through). Just remember to make the car stationary, neutral, restart and think about your set-off more, it helps me to try and understand why I stalled to make the next set-off better, at first it was mostly because I revved too much and then lifted the clutch too fast, I kept panicking thinking the people around me thought I was revving like a dickhead. I've got my stalls down to one per journey now :) I'm also just making sure to remember when I drive, that my and everyone else's safety is more important than someone's impatience, so we can take things a little slower if we need to at times.
Perhaps because we've been screwed over for generations, house prices are astronomical, the world is on fire, and people are too selfish to think outside their tiny little bubble of inconvenience. I.e. "you stalled because you weren't paying attention, and that made MY journey longer, I don't WANT to be in a car driving to work, I want to be on holiday, but I can't afford...." That kind of thinking. TLDR: no one cares about you and your problems, even though they're probably similar to theirs, how dare you inconvenience them in any way.
People get angry because they didn't leave enough time to make their journey, this is almost always their own fault yet they want to find ways to blame anyone else. Pay it no mind.
Weirdly enough no, they're not in the car with you, nor are they in your engine bay or hanging on to your exhaust pipe. How exactly are they going to tell you've stalled? 🤷
It’s evident to experienced drivers because the stalled car has stopped in the middle of the road for no apparent reason, with no brake light. Typically after a jolt forward after releasing the clutch too quickly followed by a sudden stop when the engine resistance kicks in at <1000 revs.
How the car reacts when it stalls. The sudden lack of noise from the car, followed by the sound of someone starting the car again. The sudden lack of visible emissions from the exhaust. The driver panicking and trying to get the car started again. TBH the only way to not know is to be completely oblivious…
Oblivious. You've just identified 50% of road users.
Quite easily if they are paying attention.
It's very easy... The car jolts, will likely roll back a metre or so whilst the driver brakes, and the lights at the back of the car cut off. How is it not obvious?
It's pretty easy to tell really, the car usually bucks a little as they come off the clutch and then stall.
You hear revs, then the car bounces and brake lights go on. If you're not listening to music you'll hear them turn the car back on again (it's pretty loud tbh)
Gas then clutch
Gas first.
That actually sounds like a great idea. People in the UK just don't seem to be very forgiving to even those with L plates on, sadly. I stalled at a mini roundabout in the middle of the day when driving with my parents and both cars behind me beeped multiple times despite my L plates being on! As if that would make me calmer and more able to go.. I was hoping the P plates would help but guess I'll have to see
People can be very impatient regardless of how unreasonable that is - they also forget that none of us were born driving. That’s on them and not you. It’s annoying, but try not to let them get to you. Do your thing, and continue to be safe. :)
Hey OP, im having the same issue as you had in this thread. Super embarresed that i keep stalling in front of people, and i have been beeped at a few times! I've got a different car compared to my instructors, and the whole car has a totally different feel to it. How long did it take for you to get the hang of driving the new car?
I didn’t stall but at the weekend I couldn’t get my car into gear when queuing in a supermarket car park. The car in front of me literally moved a few meters forward and the car behind beeped aggressively because I didn’t immediately drive on. Not only that, but when I pulled forwards into a space they beeped again and shouted abuse because I didn’t overshoot and go into the space in front space in front meaning they had to go around. What moron reverses into a supermarket space when they need to load their shopping into the boot??? Joke was on them as someone else got the space and they had to go off somewhere else.
To be fair it is annoying when you miss a traffic light etc because the person in front of you apparently can’t drive and is challenged by simply moving off. I still wouldn’t bother beeping as it’s not going to help but I can certainly understand why people are pissed.
Bad driving is really dangerous, a car should be moving when the circumstances say it should, if it isn’t then suddenly the concentration from other drivers has to go up and the stress also goes up. People don’t get upset when walking if someone falls over in front of them because they are not worried about being in an accident. Driving can be very stressful and your stalling adds to that. If you don’t have L or P plates you are supposed to know how to drive because it’s dangerous if you don’t.
I do it to make them twitchy and to feel like they need to rush in order to help them not stall again :)
I always waved sorry when I stalled just after my test. Only if they didn't rush me. The one cunt who did got stuck behind me doing 25 in a 40. Pettiness is my middle name.
ripe hard-to-find languid sulky slave weary zesty touch modern tan *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I let other men fk my wife (I drive a BMW btw)
You seem to be certain they're angry more than annoyed or frustrated. Did you find out the reasoning behind the horns or are you guessing/violining?
Yes OP, after you stalled didn't you get out of your car, go back down the queue and give them each a questionnaire asking about their experience?
It's just a beep. Just move on (pun intended)
Did you put a P sticker on your car? If not, you brought this on yourself.
Sometimes people beep for literally no reason at all. Pay no attention (unless they’re alerting you of a danger ofc!)
Do you have a green P or L on your car? I have all the patience in the world for new drivers. Bad drivers, not so much.
I have my P plates on although not really seeing any forgiveness at all. I think my area is generally bad tbh
I found getting a sticker that said "black box fitter, more annoyed than you are helped ease up. I used to share a car with my sister and she had the black box buyt I'd been driving for 10+ years and she'd only just passed. It was helpful!
I stalled at a roundabout yesterday and this guy behind me seemed to get very very upset by it. So much that once I got moving again and exited the roundabout, he overtook me at full speed, not noticing the traffic lights ahead of us, and he almost obliterated some guy that was crossing the road. Dangerous drivers, bro.
Don't sweat them, it happens to everyone at the start. Probably happens to far more experienced drivers more often than they'd admit. If someone's angry enough to beep, just take comfort in the thought that you're causing some A hole to bust a blood vessel in a mixvof rage and impotence.
i mean i saw someone beep at the car in front for letting a blue light ambulance through yesterday so nothing surprises me
Because everyone waited until the last minute to depart and you are frickin blocking them to get there in time.
People seem to forget that they've stalled on occasions, and that there was a time when they were a new driver.
Stalling is way down the list of things that are annoying. Texting at traffic lights and missing the lights changing to green is worse.
I got beeped on my second driving lesson when I stalled at a roundabout. I only ever beep someone if they're being a dick, never if they've made a mistake. Unfortunately, a lot of people are rude like that though, don't let it ruin your day. It's their problem, not yours
Should've just got an auto... Makes life much easier
Because people are asshats. It's gotten a lot worse since lockdown - I don't know why. So little patience on the roads these days and driving skills have gone to the dogs.
Because they are total Wankers ignore them you will soon be ten times better driver than these angry people are. Congratulations on passing 🥳🥳
UK roads are crap and over crowded, a lot of people are stuck doing hours they don't want to do at jobs they don't like just to pay the bills. And to top it off, UK drivers are on the whole rather crap. It's not excusing them but people are fed up to begin with and I think a lot of people are yet to figure out that's why they are fed up. I'm a motorcyclist so I'm perhaps a bit more aware of other drivers than some and I've noticed a huge drop in driving standards since COVID. It's quite shocking really
If it makes you feel better I once stalled when a police car was coming up fast behind me with its sirens on and then started beeping and gesticulating angrily at me.
People get braver than they would face to face because they're in the safety of the car. When they beep at the wrong person and they then get out the car, watch the beeper shrink into their seat to hide. Try to ignore them as best you can, take a deep breath, and restart your car. All of us have stalled and still occasionally stall. It happens and is not a big deal as long as you safely recover.
Mate I’ve had people beep at me as soon as a light turns green. They must assume I’m sitting there with launch control ready in my work van to hurtle me to the next red light.
Most likely a misunderstanding. 9/10 its because someone isn't paying attention and staring at their phone. Although it is quite easy whether or not someone stalled.
I'm tempted to say it's more likely they don't know you've stalled and just assume your not paying attention/looking at your phone so are beeping. Can't say I've noticed how obvious it is if someone actually stalls or not.
You will get used to it fairly quickly and will hardly ever stall so don't worry. In fairness modern cars are much more difficult to stall than they used to be. Because of this it's much more likely that the person you are sat behind is just not paying attention. In this situation a short 'toot' on the horn to wake them up is fair enough. Doing a long aggressive blast of the horn is not ok but seems to be the default reaction for some people. Where I live you only tend to hear a horn if someone is taking ages to do something when they are able to go. When I go to London though it seems that it can be the way people communicate at times as it's used a lot more.
Honestly, 90% of the time they think you've just not noticed the lights. It's not common to stall once you're up and running with driving, so their expectations are otherwise. Don't take it to heart, do what you gotta do and don't worry about those behind you too much ")
Angry people are just upset people without a mature understanding of emotions. Sadly that’s the majority of the human race.
I drive very old cars, pre 1950's mainly. Most of them built before traffic and traffic lights were a thing. The damn things aren't really built to be sat waiting for long periods, so the plugs gunk up at low RPMS, so when you do need to floor it away from the lights they do have the tendency to splutter and die, and cos the engines are really hot at this point, they don't tend to like being restarted. I appreciate that people tend to be a little sympathetic to older cars and it's very much appreciated, we do try not to cause too much chaos out on the roads.
If you stall often enough to be using the phrase '4 out of 5 times' then maybe get some L plates. Or P plates. And no it's not generally obvious when you've stalled.
4 out of 5 times? How often is this happening? Advice here, More throttle. If you're one of these that was stupidly taught by an instructor to lift the clutch to start rolling then use the throttle. Ignore it. You ALWAYS apply some throttle before lifting the clutch. Then as the clutch bites and you lift it more, put more throttle on. This is not new science. This is the way vehicles have always been driven. Even automatics apply throttle before biting the clutch. As for the beeping. "HOW DARE YOU STALL IN FRONT OF ME!!! I'M IMPORTANT AND I HAVE PLACES DO BE!" jk btw. They're arseholes, that's all.
People are just twats, I've been teaching my partner to use my car as I'll be giving it to him when he passes, and he's usually going the speed limit and we'll get taken over IN TOWNS
Duno about anybody else but I give learners and P plates a lot of room and have a lot of patience for them. We were all learners and new drivers once.
People are impatient, take your time
It really pisses me off when this happens. So I have stalled, I will make the person behind me 5 seconds behind their schedule. Just ignore, acknowledge them as said, with a sorry wave, deep breath and carry on.
I dunno, like... yeah, people shouldn't be assholes. Obviously. But on the other hand, if you've stalled, you've f'd up. Stalling is not a normal part of driving. It's a mistake you've made, which has inconvenienced the driver behind you. Should they get angry about it? No. Especially if you've got P plates on. We all make mistakes. But we've all been angry about things that have inconvenienced us too, right? You can see why they might be frustrated.
have you tried just not stalling?
People these days are impatient bastards…
Because people are twats. It's as simple as that. They literally do the same thing even if it is a learner.
Do you have a ‘P’ on your car?
Better to have a P on the other guy's car.
😂
My instructor very clearly drummed in to me that when you stall, don't panic and more importantly, ignore any impatient asshole behind you. Handbrake, neutral, breathe. Start her up, get the biting point and then release the handbrake. It's very very rare I'll stall nowadays but if I do and someone behind gives it the horn, I'll probably purposely hold them up even more.
There may be another factor at play here which is the proliferation of automatic gearboxes. Many people now have either only ever driven automatics or haven't driven a manual for many years. This is likely to reduce their ability to empathize with someone stalling a manual car. In a similar vein, people often remark on understanding the difficulties of driving HGVs or motorbikes on the public road better once they have experienced driving these vehicles themselves and feel more able to accommodate those road users as a result.
I know it's silly but when I passed I got a sticker for the car. It was a picture of a bear that said "black box fitted, please bear with me" and it made drivers so much nicer around me lol. I didn't even HAVE a black box but it severely reduced the beeps if I messed up and everyone gave me plenty of room for hill starts.
I passed my test about a year ago and the same used to happen to me. I just had to learn to ignore people behind me. Tailgaters, mainly. I sort of understand why driving standards are so much worse than they should be as a result (Besides the practical and theory test both being piss-easy) everyone has to be numb to all the idiots around them to avoid getting angry or frustrated which then makes them drive worse.
When I had first passed I assumed people were honking because I stalled. A few years later, I realised most honk because far too many people mess around with their phones or are chatting and don't even notice the lights change. Of course some are just AHs but most are probably didn't notice the stall and assume you're not paying attention.
I've wondered about this for years - I've been driving long enough that I hardly ever stall, but I recently took a younger relative out on L plates quite a few times. Of course they stalled now and then - everybody does in unfamiliar car. And yes the beeps were common. It happened so often that I began to take note of the type of people doing the beeping. I was sure it would be 'boy racers'. Or men in their 30s that still think they are boy racers. Instead it seemed mostly to be middle aged women in fairly expensive SUVs - that might be selection bias, we were driving at 'school run' timeslot and in that sort of area. Some people just can't help telling the world they are judging you. I had wondered if it was a "hey mate the lights have changed" signal and maybe some were, but we were getting them at give way junctions / roundabouts too. Mostly they knew it was a stall and the beeping was a declaration that they were more important than you and you had the gall to inconvenience them. As you point out the beeping doesn't help and makes you more flustered. All drivers will stall and you will eventually learn to be chill about it, but being in traffic and worrying about other drivers makes you panic and try to restart quickly. Never snatch at the ignition but wait a beat longer, do a routine - check the gear you are in check your mirror, consider the handbrake for hill starts, check your foot on the clutch. ONly then do you get to touch the ignition key And the bonus is rather than get flustered with the beeping, enjoy the thought you've just inconvenienced a twat.
You made them spend 3 seconds extra in the car! Unforgivable!
I had someone pull out on me in the middle of a junction causing me to emergency brake and I got called a wanker by Karen & Ken in the car behind me, when I wasn’t at fault, avoided a crash & I HAVE P PLATES. What’s the betting Karen & Ken don’t have insurance or licenses? Also what was even funnier is that the police pulled them over lmao
Click warning light button on and off. I do this if i have made a mistake or im saying thank you. The day i passed my test i cut up a guy who was bigger than the car he was driving, chased me home and threatened to stab me and my friends 😂 all for pulling out on him as he was doing 50 in a 30 😂 everyone is entitled on the road. Youll meet some disgusting people in traffic 🤣
I normally cheer, like when someone drops a pint at the bar.
It's not everyone, I've never honked at someone stalling, just people who are intentionally cuntish or people who are obliviously doing something dangerous and need warning. At the end of the day, shit happens and even experienced drivers behind the wheel of different vehicles can stall from time to time.
People are impatient and they seemingly forget that driving was new to them once. I had someone give up their priority to let me out of a car park....no other traffic around, they weren't turning into the car park, they slowed down and stopped on the main road to let me out when I would have been out after they passed anyway. I took a quick look around to make sure it was safe to go and in that time the other driver got fed up of waiting and sped away, giving not very nice hand gestures. If he was in such a hurry, why stop? I find stuff like that very annoying, but someone stalling? No, everybody stalls
Just keep your doors locked, take a breath and restart. They spend all day being a cunt, you just happened to be in the firing line at that point.
Yep, I had this happen to me too when I passed and got my car. It only has a small engine so needs a lot more gas to get going than my instructors car did, where I could pretty much just lift my foot off the clutch and it would go. Not to mention the clutch on my car has a higher biting point too, it's like right at the top of the clutch. It's also not as smooth as my instructors car, it's quite a light clutch. I stalled a LOT taking it home when I got it. Every time I had to start, I stalled it. But oddly, no-one beeped me then. I did get beeped at a few times a couple of weeks later though. It's like, okay bro, I've just stalled the car, what do you want me to do? Start it faster? Luckily, I've gotten used to it now and I don't stall it quite as much. I still do stall relatively regularly though.
I had someone behind blaring their horn at me for not going at a green light, despite the fact there was ambulance coming through with the lights and siren running. Like them getting through this particular light at this particular moment is more important than the life of that patient.
Had some head gasket issues with my car when I was driving it. Managed to get it to limp home a little, lost some power at an uphill traffic light and missed the light. Car behind me was furious. On the next light, they didn't even wait and blasted round the middle island. Police car coming the other way spun round and went after them. Instant Karma. But yeah, people are dicks in cars.
Normally it's quite obvious, because the car jolts and stops. The main problem is that the people on the roads are tremendous dickheads and don't understand that not everyone is Lewis Hamilton.
I once stalled turning right at a cross roads when I 1st got my car. It was one of them big crossroads where you wait in the middle for oncoming traffic to pass/stop. So comes my turn to set off and the car rolls forward and stalls. Then the stream of cars from my left starts. Instead of slowing to create a space to just letting me go they're all squeezing round me and pulling faces at me.
Impatient twats… I usually wait a bit to see why the car has stallen, if they are obviously distracted with no learner plate signs on, then I bib them. If you have a jus passed sign on ur car, then ignore em
When I was learning, I must've stalled 15-20 times. When I was with my instructor, I was on a road that has the national speed limit but has some very tight bends, so it changes to 50. I slowed down to 50 and I got beeped by the bellend behind me, and then he decided to overtake me just before one of those tight bends! My instructor was dumbfounded by it, absolutely insane decisions that bloke made. He was quite shocked at how calm I was when inside I was actually screaming.
I failed my first test because a dickhead van driver got right up my arse after I had pulled out. Instructor even told me that I had made the right decision to pull out when I did but unfortunately the decision had resulted in me negatively impacting another driver which is an automatic fail.
Mate someone honked at me for waiting in my lane to turn right. The guy must've thought I was just going to throw myself into oncoming traffic so I didn't inconvenience him. There's no pleasing these types of people, best you can do is try not to let it get to you
I've also found it depends on where your driving in the UK. London drivers are waayy more angry and honky than those around villages:)
Some may not realise you've stalled and are trying to be helpful/bring your attention to the green light. You can't always tell the intention behind the beep. But unfortunately many are just irrationally impatient over the slightest thing. Just do you, try to stay positive and ignore the negative.
The day I picked up my car after passing my test, I was driving home and there was a big hill. It was the first petrol car I had ever driven and I was on my own and terrified. I must have stalled 20 times at the set of lights on this particular hill. Two cars behind me was a police car, the police guy got out and came up to the window- I was terrified thinking I would get a row for something. He was ridiculously nice and understanding - told me to give it more power than I thought necessary. Finally I managed to make it through the lights and on my way. I think about that cop every time I drive up that road now.
I don't see people stall very often so I wouldn't immediately recognise that they've stalled either tbh. Some people do just break heavily for no reason lol
Put P plates on your car and if the still beep at you then they’re an arsehole. From that point on breath, remain calm and take your time pulling away again. Don’t allow them to fluster you otherwise you will be allowing them to achieve the emotional state their weak character requires to feel good about themself.
I’m gonna give you a bit of advice that could potentially save your life. Stop caring. You caring about this type of stuff on the road puts you much more likely to have an accident. Do you notice anyone else give a fuck when you give them the horn no, because most people don’t give a fuck on the roads, they do shit then ask for forgiveness rather than permission. Hesitation and worrying about someone beeping at you will distract from the actual important stuff. Be safe, take your time and don’t give a flying fuck about anyones time but always their and your own safety.
Mainly because they're annoyed at themselves for not having left enough space between you and them to drive round if you stall. They were told while learning to drive but they're impatient and stupid so they don't bother. Then when they do get stuck through their own stupidity, they try to blame it on someone else by beeping their horn. Stick the hazards on, put a hand up to apologise and then ignore them while you get started again.
Drivers are just fucking weird, some people just can't take anything into consideration outside of 1 vehicle ahead or even outside of their own vehicle. You can have an entire city in gridlock yet twats will still think repeatedly honking will achieve anything (quite literally [https://youtu.be/sRtlmkLjjkY?t=6](https://youtu.be/sRtlmkLjjkY?t=6)). "Queueing" in the fast lane waiting for the car in front to finally overtake the car in the middle lane and move over...then some twat just decides to dangerously undertake everyone only to find out they're going to have to wait anyway. Some bus drivers believing they have some all powerful right of way (at least in my city). "Lads" in ridiculous looking "suped up" non-performance cars thinking they can match performance cars. OP, if this is mostly happening at traffic lights...that'll be why. The majority of drivers will have music on/be concentrating on the traffic lights so won't notice your stall. Just forget about it as soon as you and allow the "natural" feeling of driving to take over. Worrying about stalling just leads of more stalling. Don't worry, you'll get to the point where switching gear is the most natural feeling in the world it'll feel "odd" if a stall does occur (you'll also 100% say "fuck me, haven't done that in awhile" to yourself when it does).
Most people just need to get laid regularly to be honest. You just take your time and flip them off 😂
I’m still a learner and get people driving up way too close to me when I stall or even just take slightly longer than they wanted to get going at traffic lights. I don’t know if it’s my area specifically but people really like bullying learners and new drivers!
We all do it. I've been driving for 18 years now & I stalled a couple of weeks ago. It happens. Don't let yourself get effected by anybody else. Just correct any mistakes & drive safely. Cars are dangerous machines & we need to keep our cool & our focus. Yes it's annoying to hold up traffic, but it can't be helped sometimes. People who get wound up over 3 seconds of delay are not worth an ounce of your thoughts or emotional wellbeing, & you're likely not going to share the road with them for long anyway.
If you passed your test, how is it possible that you stall your car?? This is a basic skill you should posses long before even taking your final driving test! 🤦♂️
I used to wonder why there was so much road rage. I used to just have a little motorbike and could just ride around get where I wanted to go quickly. Then I got a car. Jesus, its not fun driving a car. I even get annoyed and angry. City driving with a car is the single worst part of my week. Fuck everyone else on the road during that time. I can't imagine having to do that every day. Luckily I work from home and only rarely need to drive during peak times in the city. I understand road rage by anyone who has to waste hours of their life sat in rush hour traffic in a car. I pity you, its awful.
Some people don't like to, but I drove with 'P' stickers for the first few months. It lets people know you're a novice and they'll be a bit more cautious around you and give you space. When I see them now I'll leave a bit of extra space behind them at junctions etc, and even just behind them on a road, because I remember what it was like to be a bit nervous and self conscious about the people behind when I was a new driver.
Just smile and flip them the bird. I love doing that.
When people beep at me, I like to get out of the car and ask them if everything is okay as they beeped for attention and I worry that they need assistance. NOTE: this makes people very angry.
People are arseholes mate. Especially in cars.
US lurker here, it's even worse over here due to manuals being less common. First car I could get my hands on free was a stick so that's how I learned, and people genuinely did not seem to understand what was going on when I stalled. And when you're on a grade it's annoying cause people get right up on your ass, not expecting the roll back.
You only need to look at any thread on reddit to see how much some people enjoy pointing out that someone has done something incorrect.
If you have a P plate they're dicks. If you don't, stop being a shit
Why not practice driving in a car park, get a feel for the clutch, then once you can be on public roads without inconveniencing other people ( which I find absurd that you can pass a test and be allowed on the road when you haven’t even got a firm grasp on the very basic task of using the pedals) The problem is not inpatient people or other aggressive drivers, the problem is we are giving driving licences to people that are still petrified of the road, have no awareness and just outright should not be on the road. And before anyone chimes in “ you were a new driver too once!” Yes I was, and at that point I had made sure I had done sufficient lessons to be confident in driving to a standard that didn’t cause problems for other road users. I’m sure I’ll get downvoted to fuck for expecting people with driving licences to be able to drive, bizarre really🤷♂️
maybe a P plate to show you've recently passed might help people understand